As a subscriber to the paper (the Sunday paper only) and a daily reader of the local online news at Syracuse.com, I recently received a February 7, 2020 "Letter From The Editor" written by Trish LaMonte--the Editor and VP for content of the paper. (excuse me for being so dead tree-centric but I generally refer … Continue reading What Should Syracuse Dot Com Cover?
Are You Kidding Me?
The latest tiff in the Democratic Presidential Primary, whether Bernie made a sexist comment and whether Liz lied about the thing is EXACTLY why I always hated to do political organizing. This kind of bullshit carping about made-up, stupid issues that have no effect on people's lives irritates me to no end. And then to … Continue reading Are You Kidding Me?
Free Our People–The 20th Anniversary of the Olmstead Decision
Freedom isn't free. We hear this phrase a lot and it certainly rings true for people with disabilities, since our freedom has come quite recently—and is not quite complete. This week we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Olmstead v L.C., (527 U.S. 581), a U.S. Supreme Court decision written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. … Continue reading Free Our People–The 20th Anniversary of the Olmstead Decision
Let the guy with the calculator decide?
Syracuse Common Council meeting of the DPW committee 5-7-19 At the D.P.W. committee meeting at Common Council today, the discussion was on road paving (and thanks to our group--a bit on curbs/crosswalks.) There was a relatively short discussion on the need to ensure that there is sufficient public participation in the discussion before the Council … Continue reading Let the guy with the calculator decide?
Trump’s FY 2020 Budget: “Kill, torture and destroy–just keep my taxes low.”
Proposed Fiscal Year 2020 Budget of the U.S. Government In the beginning of March, President Trump submitted his proposal for a FY2020 Federal Budget. As has been the case with his prior two proposed budgets they: Call for massive cuts to all discretionary spending on social services ANDAre immediately declared irrelevant. Trump's budgets do not … Continue reading Trump’s FY 2020 Budget: “Kill, torture and destroy–just keep my taxes low.”
Hi, my name is Phil and I am a Christian.
Recently, someone IRL asked me if I was a Christian. I said I was and moved on quickly before they tried to either debate abortion or sell me something. It did get me to thinking,though. I am a Christian, but with no real need to proclaim this part of my life. I am nominally a … Continue reading Hi, my name is Phil and I am a Christian.
25 years ago today . . .
I wrote a piece on this blog five years ago, describing my experiences in the first twenty years of my career as a community organizer. On February 5th, 1994 I walked into the offices of Syracuse United Neighbors, a community group working with residents of the south, southwest and near west sides of the city. … Continue reading 25 years ago today . . .
